Have you ever asked yourself, “If I were a burglar, how would I enter my home?” Well, that simple question can save you thousands of dollars in damage and stolen property. How, you ask? Well, getting in the mindset of an intruder can expose vulnerabilities within your home; most are inexpensive fixes that can make a big difference. Below are a few things that may cross the mind of a home burglar. Ask yourself if these apply to you. If so, consider making upgrades to ensure your home is the safest it can be.

For most homeowners, home security means a sturdy fence, a bump-proof lock, and maybe even shatter-resistant window panes. Those who want an extra layer of defense might invest in security equipment, like an alarm system. Defending one’s home within legal parameters can be difficult enough as it is, but accounting for an outbreak of contagious disease requires turning a home into a veritable quarantine zone.

In previous discussions, we’ve talked about encouraging an intruder to a specific area where he can be observed, and how we’re going to slow him down once he gets to the gaps we’ve created. At this point, according to the laid-out plan in parts I-III, you’re going to hit the intruder with a thorny hedge, and-or fence, and-or stumble wire. Unless he’s undisciplined, chances are you may not hear an “ouch” if you’re at the house, barn, or sleeping in your bed; and maybe your dog won’t either. So how does any of this do more than maybeslow down the intruder? You’re going to alarm that stumble wire. You can also just set up trip wires in the gaps, or arrange them in gaps in the stumble wire.

In an earlier article, we discussed setting up multi-purpose fencing in various sized yards. In that fencing, whether a typical fence or an edible hedgerow, whether you make one exterior fence or two, you’re going to leave breaks and gaps where they can be observed. These breaks are where the trip wires and stumble wires come in.

There are a lot of options when it comes to securing your home in a grid-down situation. However, all of these options are not feasible now; due to homeowners associations and potential law suits if neighborhood children accidently infiltrate your perimeter. However, there are some things even suburbanites and city dwellers don’t have to wait to implement. Some of them would definitely raise some eyebrows now, but some are relatively fast and easy to put up once you decide you need to harden the home a little more. For now, let’s focus on foot traffic. It’s a big, expansive topic, so to save reader’s eyes, I’ve broken it into more readily consumed chunks.

With so many bad things going on in the world and some very serious concerns that the worst may be yet to come, many of us are of a mind to prepare, or harden, our homes and properties to help us fend off undesirables. But how far can we go legally and / or without upsetting the “balance of the neighborhood” to achieve that goal? Let’s look at what works, what doesn’t work, and what could land us in a whole world of hurt if we cross the line when creating perimeter defenses.